The Monster: Stephen Crane
Details
The Monster is an 1898 novella by Stephen Crane. It is considered by critic William Dean Howells to be the best short story ever written by an American, and by Ralph Ellison to be "one of the parents of the modern American novel."
It takes place in the small, fictional town of Whilomville, New York. Henry Johnson, an African-American coachman, has his face horribly disfigured while saving a child from a burning laboratory. Henry, transformed into an object of horror and repugnance, is branded a "monster" by the townspeople. When Dr. Trescott, the town's physician and the boy's father, vows to shelter and care for him, he and his family are ostracized from the community and forced to undergo an ordeal of fear and violence.
The novella reflects upon the 19th-century social divide and ethnic tensions in America. It is thought that Crane took inspiration from several local men who were similarly disfigured, and its themes include the paradoxical study of monstrosity and deformity, as well as race and tolerance. It is also remarkable for its parallels to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
The Monster:
Supplemental:
- "Face of Fire" (1959 movie adaptation)
Extracts:
- "“Now...who are the monsters, we or the cripples?” “You yourself are a monster, for asking the question,” said Mohi." (Mardi, 2.71)
- "...I now felt convinced that in some luckless hour I should be disfigured in such a manner as never more to have the face to return to my countrymen, even should an opportunity offer." (Typee, 30)
This meetup is part of a series on Muses and Monsters.